Bláthnaid’s Knockanstockan Review!

Knockanstockan took place in the beautiful sunny valleys beside the Blessington lakes in south county Wicklow on the last weekend of July 2013 – and this was my first of many to attend!

The unbelievable weather was the icing on the cake for this independent, non-profit festival whose mission is to: ‘Bring musicians together to celebrate, showcase and share their music’ – and that is exactly what they did!

Spirits were high on Friday afternoon when everyone arrived in their festival attire, well equipped for the creativity-filled few days that lay ahead.

Once our tent was strategically pitched by The Big Blue Bus (amazing pizzas) it was time to explore! So much effort was put in by the artistic volunteers the few days before the festival to make a real visual impact, building places like the ‘Woodland’ within the ‘Fairies Fields’ (that’s how they spelt it!). This was a real interactive spot filled with wooden monuments and structures. Highlights included a giant spider and mushroom seats that were great to take a load off on, while sitting back and listening to the tunes. There were plenty of really cool nooks and crannies throughout the festival where people could chill out and soak up the electric atmosphere.

Knockanstockan is a real melting pot of up-and-coming Irish music from all genres, as well as a few acts from further afield!

There were a few bands that stood out for me; some I’m already familiar with and support, as well as a few that I came across over the course of the weekend. So here they are! I recommend that everyone stalks them online and tries to go along to one of their gigs in the near future!

All of these bands got the enthusiastic crowds jumping and singing along!
There were so many amazing bands but the ones above caught my attention so check them out and support some of our own!

What I loved about the festival is that all profits are used to support bands and artists, giving them a platform to show what they’ve really got. As they say, it is a festival created by musicians, for musicians. There was a real feel good vibe all weekend, including the very neighbourly campsites. The festival has expanded vastly from last year, drawing in even more crowds and more music, so it’s fair to say that is was a great success and I hope this success continues into next years
‘Knockanstockan’ ! So well done and thanks for a great weekend!